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Abstract Twisted a pair of stacked two-dimensional materials exhibit many exotic electronic and photonic properties, leading to the emergence of flat-band superconductivity, moiré engineering and topological polaritons. These remarkable discoveries make twistronics the focus point of tremendous interest, but mostly limited to the concept of electrons, phonons or photons. Here, we present twist piezoelectricity as a fascinating paradigm to modulate polarization and electromechanical coupling by twisting precisely the stacked lithium niobate slabs due to the interlayer coupling effect. Particularly, the inversed and twisted bilayer lithium niobate is constructed to overcome the intrinsic mutual limitation of single crystals and giant effective electromechanical coupling coefficient $${k}_{t}^{2}$$ k t 2 is unveiled at magic angle of $$111^\circ$$ 11 1 ∘ , reaching 85.5%. Theoretical analysis based on mutual energy integrals shows well agreements with numerical and experimental results. Our work opens new venues to flexibly control multi-physics with magic angle, stimulating progress in wideband acoustic-electric, and acoustic-optic components, which has great potential in wireless communication, timing, sensing, and hybrid integrated photonics.

Abstract Data on emergency endoscopic treatment following endotracheal intubation in patients with esophagogastric variceal bleeding (EGVB) remain limited. This retrospective study aimed to explore the efficacy and risk factors of bedside emergency endoscopic treatment following endotracheal intubation in severe EGVB patients admitted in Intensive Care Unit. A total of 165 EGVB patients were enrolled and allocated to training and validation sets in a randomly stratified manner. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent risk factors to construct nomograms for predicting the prognosis related to endoscopic hemostasis failure rate and 6-week mortality. In result, white blood cell counts (p = 0.03), Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score (p = 0.001) and comorbid shock (p = 0.005) were selected as independent clinical predictors of endoscopic hemostasis failure. High CTP score (p = 0.003) and the presence of gastric varices (p = 0.009) were related to early rebleeding after emergency endoscopic treatment. Furthermore, the 6-week mortality was significantly associated with MELD scores (p = 0.002), the presence of hepatic encephalopathy (p = 0.045) and postoperative rebleeding (p

Extensive research has been conducted on the waste sorting behavior (WSB) of residents, while it is the first time that the classification behavior of urban and rural residents is compared under the same theoretical framework in China. Based on questionnaire data from 478 urban and rural residents, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to investigate the internal factors influencing the WSB by integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Norm Activation Model (NAM). Hierarchical regression analysis was utilized to investigate the moderating effect of external factors on the residents' intentions and behavior. The results show that the degree of deviation between rural residents' intentions and behavior is much larger than that of urban residents. Personal norms are the key factors affecting urban residents' waste sorting. In contrast, for rural residents, attitude is the most critical factor, but the influence of subjective norms is insignificant. In addition, we found that policy restraints and economic incentives significantly moderate the association between urban residents' sorting intention and behavior, with economic incentives having a better effect than policy restraints. In contrast, the impact of policy restraints on rural residents is better than that of urban areas. However, the moderating effect of economic incentives is insignificant for rural residents. The findings furnish the government with meaningful strategies to narrow the urban-rural waste management gap.

Agricultural non-point source pollution (ANSP) constraints on the development of the agricultural economy, grasp the interaction between the two, and develop targeted prevention and control policies in accordance with the evolution of different stages of the characteristic is essential. This study examines the economic characteristics of ANSP in Shandong Province to propose targeted countermeasures. Selected the time series data of Shandong Province from 2000 to 2020 to test the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) characteristics between ANSP and agricultural economic growth (AEG), and the Vector Error Correction model (VECM) is used further to explore the dynamic relationship and mechanism. We validate the existence of an Inverted U-shaped EKC in Shandong Province, and the inflection points of pesticides, fertilizers, and agricultural films were reached in 2007 and 2008. The changes in pesticide loss and fertilizer loss have a positive impact on the dynamics of AEG in the short term, but there is an incremental inhibition in the long term. The dynamic effect of the impulse response diagram between the amount of agricultural film residues and AEG all shows a positive impact. The average explanatory contribution of pesticide loss, fertilizer loss, and agricultural film residue to AEG decreases by 12.14%, 7.7%, and 3%, respectively. Therefore, policy suggestions are proposed to realize the coordinated development of ANSP and economic development.

Covering 15% of the Earth's land surface and home to 14% of the global population, semi-arid pastoral regions are characterized by high climatic variability and ecological vulnerability. Inner Mongolia, especially, is one of the regions that are most affected by climate change. In this study, we develop an integrated GIS and agent-based model of semi-arid pastoral social-ecological system (SAPSES) to simulate system responses to various policy and climate situations, using the traditional pastoral areas in Inner Mongolia, China, as a demonstration. Three herdsmen's adaptation strategy experiments and three adaptation policy experiments are designed, each of which is stress-tested under three climate scenarios SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5 and SSP3-7.0 to simulate the policy-climate interactive effects on SAPSES. The results show that, under SSP1-2.6 scenario, it is more conducive to sustainable livelihood of pastoral households, improving economic benefits and reducing ecological risks. While under SSP2-4.5 and SSP3-7.0 scenarios, purchasing forage is not an effective way for herdsmen to adapt to climate disasters, which causes grassland degradation, increase ecological risk and reduce economic benefits of SAPSES. For assessing the adaptation policies, herdsman suffers the severest ecological loss and the highest bankruptcy rate under policy experiment a. Privatization, undergoes the medium ecological loss and medium bankruptcy rate under policy experiment b. Privatization with carrying capacity control and subsidy, and experiences the smallest loss and the lowest bankruptcy rate under policy experiment c. Common property management with carrying capacity control and subsidy. The results help inform more robust policy for building climate resilience in semi-arid grassland regions.

Abstract Wellcomia compar (Spirurina: Oxyuridae) is a pinworm that infects wild and captive porcupines. Despite clear records of its morphological structure, its genetics, systematics, and biology are poorly understood. This study aimed to determine the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of W. compar and reconstruct its phylogenetic relationship with other nematodes. We sequenced the complete mt genome of W. comparand conducted phylogenetic analyses using concatenated coding sequences of 12 protein-coding genes (PCGs) by maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. The complete mt genome is 14,373 bp in size and comprises 36 genes, including 12 protein-coding, two rRNA and 22 tRNA genes. Apart from 28 intergenic regions, one non-coding region and one overlapping region also occur. A comparison of the gene arrangements of Oxyuridomorpha revealed relatively similar features in W. compar and Wellcomia siamensis. Phylogenetic analysis also showed that W. compar and W. siamensis formed a sister group. In Oxyuridomorpha the genetic distance between W. compar and W. siamensis was 0.0805. This study reports, for the first time, the complete W. compar mt genome sequence obtained from Chinese porcupines. It provides genetic markers for investigating the taxonomy, population genetics, and phylogenetics of pinworms from different hosts and has implications for the diagnosis, prevention, and control of parasitic diseases in porcupines and other animals.

Quantum private comparison (QPC) enables two users to securely conduct private comparisons in a network characterized by mutual distrust while guaranteeing the confidentiality of their private inputs. Most previous QPC protocols were primarily used to determine the equality of private information between two users, which constrained their scalability. In this paper, we propose a QPC protocol that leverages the entanglement correlation between particles in a four-particle cluster state. This protocol can compare the information of two groups of users within one protocol execution, with each group consisting of two users. A semi-honest third party (TP), who will not deviate from the protocol execution or conspire with any participant, is involved in assisting users to achieve private comparisons. Users encode their inputs into specific angles of rotational operations performed on the received quantum sequence, which is then sent back to TP. Security analysis shows that both external attacks and insider threats are ineffective at stealing private data. Finally, we compare our protocol with some previously proposed QPC protocols.

Quantum private comparison (QPC) is a fundamental cryptographic protocol that allows two parties to compare the equality of their private inputs without revealing any information about those inputs to each other. In recent years, QPC protocols utilizing various quantum resources have been proposed. However, these QPC protocols have lower utilization of quantum resources and qubit efficiency. To address this issue, we propose an efficient QPC protocol based on GHZ states, which leverages the unique properties of GHZ states and rotation operations to achieve secure and efficient private comparison. The secret information is encoded in the rotation angles of rotation operations performed on the received quantum sequence transmitted along the circular mode. This results in the multiplexing of quantum resources and enhances the utilization of quantum resources. Our protocol does not require quantum key distribution (QKD) for sharing a secret key to ensure the security of the inputs, resulting in no consumption of quantum resources for key sharing. One GHZ state can be compared to three bits of classical information in each comparison, leading to qubit efficiency reaching 100%. Compared with the existing QPC protocol, our protocol does not require quantum resources for sharing a secret key. It also demonstrates enhanced performance in qubit efficiency and the utilization of quantum resources.

Water supply is one of the important functions provided to humans by the ecosystem. Water supply by the ecosystem leads to sustainable economic development, ecological restoration and food security for human societies. Therefore, the evaluation of the water supply capacity of the ecosystem and the analysis of its spatial distribution features play an important role in the implementation of the plan for the protection and exploitation of water resources. Evaluation of ecological economic balance is of great importance in sustainable ecosystem management. This paper was conducted to develop the ecological economic balance structure based on the water supply and land cover changes. Land use was considered in four time periods from 2000 to 2021 with seven-year intervals to evaluate the process of land cover change and water availability. The results showed that the southern and eastern regions addressed a negative trend in the ecological economic balance. These areas have been affected by population growth and urbanization. HIGHLIGHTS Water supply plays an important role in assessing ecological economic.; Water supply have caused obvious changes in land use/cover and have increasedthe need for soil protection.; Rainfall, evapotranspiration and land use should be considered in eco-hydrological planning.;

Abstract Aqueous zinc‐metal batteries (AZMBs) have received tremendous attentions due to their high safety, low cost, environmental friendliness, and simple process. However, zinc‐metal still suffer from uncontrollable dendrite growth and surface parasitic reactions that reduce the Coulombic efficiency (CE) and lifetime of AZMBs. These problems which are closely related to the active water are not well‐solved. Here, an ultrathin crack‐free metal–organic framework (ZIF‐7x‐8) with rigid sub‐nanopore (0.3 nm) is constructed on Zn‐metal to promote the de‐solvation of zinc‐ions before approaching Zn‐metal surface, reduce the contacting opportunity between water and Zn, and consequently eliminate water‐induced corrosion and side‐reactions. Due to the presence of rigid and ordered sub‐nanochannels, Zn‐ions deposits on Zn‐metal follow a highly ordered manner, resulting in a dendrite‐free Zn‐metal with negligible by‐products, which significantly improve the reversibility and lifespan of Zn‐metals. As a result, Zn‐metal protected by ultrathin crack‐free ZIF‐7x‐8 layer exhibits excellent cycling stability (over 2200 h) and extremely‐high 99.96% CE during 6000 cycles. The aqueous PANI‐V2O5//ZIF‐7x‐8@Zn full‐cell preserves 86% high‐capacity retention even after ultra‐long 2000 cycles. The practical pouch‐cell can also be cycled for more than 120 cycles. It is believed that the simple strategy demonstrated in this work can accelerate the practical utilizations of AZMBs.

In order to achieve the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, one of China’s choices is to establish distributed photovoltaic power station (DPPS). the site combination optimization is important for DPPS. If the government’s opinions are not considered in the decision-making, the DPPS project will be aborted. Because the decision-making objectives of the enterprise and the local government are inconsistent and cannot compensate each other, it is necessary to build the decision index systems based on the respective decision-making objectives of enterprises and governments. The DPPS site combination optimization is the multi-objective programming (MOP) problem, but the MOP model is difficult to operate in the dual perspective environment, because the complexity of decision index system and the data type diversity and uncertainty of decision information. Therefore, the innovations of this paper are as follows: ① the DPPS site selection decision index system is established from the dual perspective of enterprises and governments, so as to ensure the interest demands of local governments and lay a foundation for win–win; ② The proposed site combination optimization model has better inclusiveness to the types of decision data with the help of interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy number (IVIFN), so as to reduce the impacts of information loss and uncertainty; ③ and more importantly, the proposed model can solve the DPPS site combination optimization problem in the environment of complex decision index system with the help of IVIFN–TOPSIS method. The proposed decision index system and model form the site combination optimization framework, and its effectiveness is verified by a case study. This framework can provide a reasonable basis for cooperation negotiations, thereby promoting the further development of DPPS and providing the necessary reference for other types of new energy power stations.

PurposeThe effective relief of muscle spasticity requires prompt solutions in rehabilitation medicine. This study aimed to reveal that the highest region of muscle spindle abundance is the optimal target of botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) injections for relieve muscle spasm.MethodsSixty adult, male Sprague–Dawley rats with lower limbs spasm caused by stroke after modeling, weighing (200 ± 20) g, were included in this study. The modelrats were divided into four groups: muscle spasm model group (group A), model rats treated with BTX-A injections into the middle of the muscle belly (group B), model rats treated with BTX-A injections into the center of the intramuscular nerve-dense region (INDR) (group C), and model rats treated with BTX-A injection into the center of the highest region of muscle spindle abundance (HRMSA) (group D). Groups B, C, and D were further divided into two subgroups: the 3rd and 6th days after BTX-A injection. The rats in each group were assigned modified Ashworth scale scores (MAS), and the changes in gastrocnemius muscle tone, wet muscle weight, and cross-sectional area of muscle fiber were detected.ResultsMuscle spindle abundance was the highest in the upper part of the INDR. Group B experienced no significant changes in MAS, muscle tone, wet muscle weight, or cross-sectional area of the muscle fiber. Conversely, groups C and D experienced a decrease in these indicators. Group C experienced the most significant decrease in wet muscle weight and cross-sectional area of muscle fibers. Group D experienced the most notable decrease in MAS and muscle tone. There were no significant differences in the indicators between the 3rd and 6th days after BTX-A injections in group B and there were significant differences in the improvement in the indicators between the two subgroups in groups C and D, with group D experiencing more notable intersubgroup differences.ConclusionThe efficacy of BTX-A injections into the HRMSA is significantly superior to that of conventional BTX-A injections into the middle of the belly muscle or the INDR in the treatment of muscle spasms. Hence, HRMSA should be the optimal target of BTX-A to relieve muscle spasms.

Attaining optimal eco-efficiency is of paramount importance in promoting the sustainable and harmonious development of the economy and environment within urban agglomerations. Firstly, this paper utilizes the Super-SBM model with undesirable output to measure the eco-efficiency (EE) of 64 cities in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei metropolitan region (BTHMR), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), the Pearl River Delta (PRD), and the Chengdu–Chongqing Economic Zone (CCEZ) from 2006 to 2019. Secondly, this study puts forth a novel and comprehensive index system aimed at evaluating the urbanization efficiency and sheds light on the spatiotemporal changes in EE and urbanization efficiency. Finally, the STIRPAT model is used to examine the influencing factors of EE and to investigate the correlation between EE and urbanization efficiency. The study found that the overall EE of the four typical urban agglomerations is high, but the trend varies with a decrease of about 12.9% from 2006 to 2019. The mean EE is in the order of CCEZ > PRD > BTHMR > YRD, with mean values of 0.941, 0.909, 0.842, and 0.732, respectively. The level of science and technology and the urbanization efficiency have a significant positive impact on EE, while population, industrial structure, FDI, and greening level have an inhibitory effect on urban eco-efficiency. Based on the results, policy suggestions such as paying attention to regional heterogeneity and giving full play to the government’s macro-regulatory role in shaping the economic and industrial structure are proposed to serve as a guide for the coordinated development of urban agglomerations under the Dual Carbon Target.

Objective: Nephronophthisis (NPHP) is a rare autosomal recessive inherited kidney disease that can cause cystic enlargement of the kidneys, and lead to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) before the age of 30 years. Herein we describe a case of adolescent-onset NPHP with a novel homozygous mutation in the inversin gene (INVS).Methods: The patient was a 15-year-old Chinese boy who presented with ESRD. Genetic testing was performed via whole exome sequencing and validated via Sanger sequencing. A novel homozygous INVS mutation was identified (c. 1909C > T; p. Gln637Ter).Results: The results of laboratory examinations included urinary protein 1.05 g/24 h, urine erythrocyte count 5/high-power field, serum creatinine 1,026.2 μmol/L, and estimated glomerular filtration rate 5.8 ml/min/1.73 mm2. Extrarenal features included hypertension and moderate anemia, and his parents were consanguineous (first cousins). A homozygous 1-bp substitution resulting in a nonsense mutation (c. 1909C > T; p. Gln637Ter) in exon 15 of INVS was detected via whole exome sequencing, and validated via Sanger sequencing. According to the classification system of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, the mutated gene in INVS is strongly pathogenic (PVS1+PM2+PP3+PP5). His parents and a younger brother were heterozygous carriers. Based on the above results he was diagnosed with juvenile type 2 NPHP. He underwent hemodialysis, and received a kidney transplant after 2 months. He is currently recovering well, with a serum creatinine level of 117 μmol/L and an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 79.6 ml/min/1.73 mm2.Conclusion: Here we have described an extremely rare case of adolescent-onset type 2 NPHP caused by a homozygous INVS mutation. The patient had progressed to ESRD by the age of 15 years. The current report will deepen our understanding of the clinical and genetic basis of this disease.

The rapid advancements in machine learning and quantum computing have given rise to a new research frontier: quantum machine learning. Quantum models designed for tackling classification problems possess the potential to deliver speed enhancements and superior predictive accuracy compared to their classical counterparts. However, recent research has revealed that quantum neural networks (QNNs), akin to their classical deep neural network-based classifier counterparts, are vulnerable to adversarial attacks. In these attacks, meticulously designed perturbations added to clean input data can result in QNNs producing incorrect predictions with high confidence. To mitigate this issue, we suggest enhancing the adversarial robustness of quantum machine learning systems by incorporating noise layers into QNNs. This is accomplished by solving a Min-Max optimization problem to control the magnitude of the noise, thereby increasing the QNN’s resilience against adversarial attacks. Extensive numerical experiments illustrate that our proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art defense techniques in terms of both clean and robust accuracy.

In order to study the effect of the rainfall infiltration on water migration in compacted loess, a model device was developed for testing water migration in the soil under rainfall conditions. In this study, the volumetric water content and resistivity of soil were introduced into the model test device. This model test device was applied to the study of water migration characteristics in compacted loess under different rainfall conditions. The results show that the resistivity decreases with the increase of the volumetric water content at the same depth of the loess column. In this way, the characteristics of the water migration can also be reflected from the change of the resistivity. There is an intimate relationship between the resistivity and volumetric water content, dry density. The volumetric water content and dry density are normalized by saturation of loess, arriving the equation of saturation against the resistivity. The characteristics of rainfall infiltration in compacted loess show a particular pattern, which demonstrates that, with the increase of dry density of the loess column, the rainfall infiltration line present "Y", "D" and "Λ" shape distribution respectively, under light rain, heavy rain and rainstorm.

When loess is contaminated by oil, different modes of contamination will have a certain impact on the mechanical behaviors of loess in the oil-production areas. This study is aimed at evaluating the effect of diesel oil contamination on mechanical behaviors of loess through extensive laboratory tests. Two different modes of oil contamination were proposed and applied in compression tests, direct shear tests, and unconfined compressive strength tests to study the compressibility and strength characteristics of diesel-contaminated loess. Results show that two different modes of oil contamination have significant effects on the mechanical behaviors of loess. In comparison with clean loess, the compressibility of contaminated loess increases, and its unconfined compressive strength and shear strength all decrease under the first mode of oil contamination. The compression modulus, friction angle, and unconfined compressive strength of diesel oil-contaminated loess using the second mode of oil contamination are larger than those in the first mode of oil contamination at the same oil content and dry density. Understanding these effects on mechanical behaviors of loess under different modes of oil contamination can significantly guide soil and environment-remediation activities in loess oil-production areas.

The sub-control systems in the architecture of conventional compressor station control system have various types and complex architecture, leading to excessive failure points, large maintenance amount, frequent data communication, etc. Taking Gaizhou Compressor Station as a pilot, the method integrating the compressor station control system with the compressor unit control system was proposed. The compressor unit load control system was integrated into the station control system. After SIL certification, the compressor unit process control system and safety instrument system were combined, thus reducing the number of control systems. Both the HMI of the compressor unit control system and the HMI of the unit load distribution control system were integrated into the HMI of the station control system, so that the display of all controlled equipment and parameters in the compressor station could be controlled by the HMI interface of station control system. Upon the completion of the system integration, the station control system network was divided into control network and equipment network, separated from each other, and could effectively ensure the safety of the unit control system. The results of the pilot application show that during the construction period, the hardware investment is saved in the earlier stages. During the operation of the station, the number of failures caused by communication failure can be effectively reduced to better realize the one-key start and stop function of the station. The integration of compressor station control system and unit control system will not only reduce the number of control systems, improve the communication rate between systems, but also ensure the stable operation of each system.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease. In this study, the role of microRNA-340-5p in rheumatoid arthritis was investigated. qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of microRNA-340-5p in serums, synovial tissues, and fibroblast-like synoviocytes from patients and healthy participants. Cell proliferation rate, cell cycle and apoptotic cell numbers were measured by CCK-8 and flow cytometry assays. The expression of pro-inflammation factors was determined by ELISA. Our data showed that the expression of microRNA-340-5p was greatly suppressed in rheumatoid arthritis serums, synovial tissues and rheumatoid arthritis-fibroblast-like synoviocytes compared to that in healthy controls. Over-expression of microRNA-340-5p greatly suppressed cell proliferation, promoted cell apoptosis, and suppressed the expression of inflammation factors in rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes. Additionally, STAT3 was a target of microRNA-340-5. Overexpression of STAT3 could reverse the outcome of microRNA-340-5p on cell proliferation and apoptosis in rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes. The findings in our study demonstrated that microRNA-340-5p may serve as a potential target for therapeutic direction for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

For the intrinsic safety and reliable operation of the SCADA system network of gas pipeline stations and the implementation of laws and regulations such as the People's Republic of China cyber security law, the network security protection scheme was designed and implemented during the construction of the SCADA control system of gas pipeline to ensure the safety control from boundary isolation, station network audit, firewall blocking, gatekeeper control, comprehensive analysis of situation awareness platform, etc. By virtue of the network audit, isolation and analysis functions of relevant equipment, combined with fall analysis, threat intelligence analysis, abnormal behavior analysis, unknown threat analysis, network anomaly analysis, domain name anomaly analysis, attack threat feature analysis, covert channel analysis and the rich overall security analysis and reporting functions, security threats such as external attacks, external threats, internal illegal connections, abnormal network session modes, etc. can be effectively detected. It is a perfection and improvement of the traditional security defense system and an integrated network security monitoring scheme from the station to the control center. The system adopts independent network transmission, which meets the protection and monitoring requirements of data communication between different systems, allows the access control between transnational control systems, and conforms to the management regulations of the national classified security protection evaluation, network security laws and industry security standards.

In order to summarize the achievements of the data visualization construction of the intelligent pipeline in China–Russia Eastern Gas Pipeline and promote the development of data visualization and big data analysis technology for oil and gas pipelines, the data types, data status, data structure and data volume of China–Russia Eastern Gas Pipeline were discussed from the perspective of data visualization. Methods and practices for realizing data visualization were also researched from the aspects of data transmission, data Extract-Transform-Load(ETL), etc. Through the exploration and practice of interactive visualization system of the intelligent pipeline in China–Russia Eastern Gas Pipeline, integrated display of multi-source dynamic and static data during construction and operation has been realized, and the proposed suggestions, which require the supports of data center construction and solutions for application layer, will provide certain guiding significance for promoting pipeline data visualization and big data analysis.

The frequent variations of XSS (cross-site scripting) payloads make static and dynamic analysis difficult to detect effectively. In this paper, we proposed a fusion verification method that combines traffic detection with XSS payload detection, using machine learning to detect XSS attacks. In addition, we also proposed seven new payload features to improve detection efficiency. In order to verify the effectiveness of our method, we simulated and tested 20 public CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) XSS attacks. The experimental results show that our proposed method has better accuracy than the single traffic detection model. Among them, the recall rate increased by an average of 48%, the F1 score increased by an average of 27.94%, the accuracy rate increased by 9.29%, and the accuracy rate increased by 3.81%. Moreover, the seven new features proposed in this paper account for 34.12% of the total contribution rate of the classifier.

Abstract Background The recurrence of esophageal varices remains high in patients with hepatic portal hypertension after the endoscopic esophageal variceal eradication therapies, including endoscopic variceal band ligation (EVL), injection sclerotherapy (EIS) or EVL plus EIS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the endoscopic ultrasound probe examinations (EUP) findings in the prediction of recurrence following esophageal variceal eradication in a prospective cohort. Methods A total of 206 cirrhotic portal hypertension patients with esophageal variceal eradication, who underwent endoscopic variceal therapy (EVL or EIS or EVL plus EIS) were initially enrolled. All patients were scheduled for a follow-up every 6 months for up to 3 years. EUP was performed to evaluate peri-esophageal collateral veins (peri-ECVs), perforating veins (PFV) and para-esophageal collateral veins (para-ECVs). In addition, computed tomography (CT) were conducted to detect portal vein diameter, portal vein embolus, and major portosystemic collateral shunts. The relationship between esophageal variceal recurrence and EUP findings were analyzed. Results We found that as high as 93.5% of patients developed esophageal variceal recurrence in the 3-year follow-up. The time of esophageal variceal recurrence after variceal eradication was 13.4 months (13.4 ± 9.2 months). Furthermore, the median time of recurrence in patients who were undertaken EVL,EIS and EVL plus EIS was 10, 13 and 12 months, respectively. We identified that the risk factors, including EVL (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.08–0.71, p

Loss of matric suction during rain has an important effect on the instability of expansive soil slope. A new device was designed for testing the expansive force in order to propose and determine the equivalent expansive force corresponding to the matric suction. First, the internal relation between the matric suction and the corresponding equivalent expansive force of unsaturated expansive soil was analyzed. Then, numerical algorithm implementation of the equivalent expansive force was discussed, and the equivalent expansive force was introduced into the strength reduction finite element method (FEM). Finally, the equivalent effects of the matric suction and the equivalent expansive force were compared and analyzed by evaluating the stability of an unsaturated expansive soil slope. The results show that the new testing device significantly improves the accuracy of the expansive force test and shortens the testing time. The relation between the matric suction and the equivalent expansive force with the change in initial water content is obvious. The equivalent expansive force can reflect the macro contribution of matric suction to unsaturated expansive soil, and the developed strength reduction FEM based on the equivalent expansive force can be used to evaluate the rainfall-induced instability of an expansive soil slope caused by the decrease in matric suction resulting from the rainfall infiltration.

Oil leakage will not only pollute the soil but also change its physical-mechanical behavior, and loess has complex properties in the environment of oil presence. Artificial loess contaminated by diesel oil is collected as the research object. The physical and mechanical properties of clean loess and contaminated loess, including liquid and plastic limits, permeability, compression properties, and compressive strength characteristics, are estimated through a series of laboratory tests under different oil contents, water contents, and dry densities. Results show that liquid limits, plastic limits, and permeability coefficient of diesel-contaminated loess decrease with the increase of oil content. The compression modulus and compressive strength of diesel-contaminated loess increase with the increase of dry density at the same oil content. Adding diesel oil, the change law of the unconfined compressive strength of contaminated loess is opposite at the two different water contents. The variation of the compression modulus and unconfined compressive strength of diesel oil-contaminated loess is basically identical at the same condition. The findings of this study would be expected to bridge the gap between theory and practice in treatment and remediation of contaminated soil in the region of oil production.

Objective. To investigate the association between the lipid profiles and coronary heart disease (CHD) in nondiabetic patients younger than 65 years of age. Method. 424 patients were enrolled in this study from January 2019 to December 2020. All the patients were screened for clinically indicated coronary angiography. They were divided into two groups according to the coronary angiography results: 340 patients with the presence of CHD (at least one coronary artery stenosis ≥50%) were classified as the CHD group, and the rest with the absence of CHD comprised the normal group. The demographic data and lipid profiles were compared. Result. CHD was higher in males than females (84.5% vs. 62.2%, P

When tests are conducted on the field slope under artificial rainfall, because artificial rainfall is often limited to implementation in the mode of local rainfall, there is a boundary constraint effect between the rainfall area and the non-rainfall area, which is manifested in the lateral infiltration of rainwater and the slope deformation retardation of non-rainfall area to the rainfall area. Firstly, a deep-buried isolated trench was proposed to solve these boundary constraints. Then, field cracking tests and the corresponding numerical simulation were conducted under rainfall. In the end, the response of water content and the cracking failure characteristics of the slope were analyzed during rainfall, and the effect of a deep-buried isolated trench on the cracking characteristics of the slope was evaluated. The results indicate that the proposed deep-buried isolated trench measure can effectively eliminate the deformation retardation resulting from the adjacent non-rainfall area so a through-crack parallel to the slope shoulder that extended on both sides of the boundary of the rainfall slope was observed at the slope crest and a cracking failure in the shape of the overall downward cutting was realized. As the crack occurred, the rainwater infiltration further aggravated expansion of depthwise cracks, and a local sliding zone was formed in the upper part of the slope. The deep-buried isolated trench solves the boundary constraints, such as lateral infiltration of rainwater and deformation retardation, and can provide an effective technical measure for the field slope test under artificial rainfall.

To improve the properties of α-amylase from Bacillus stearothermophilus (AmyS), a deletion mutant AmyS∆R179-G180 was constructed by deleting arginine (Arg179) and glycine (Gly180) using site-directed mutagenesis. AmyS and AmyS∆R179-G180 were expressed in Bacillus subtilis and purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, after which the enzymatic properties were characterized and compared. By deleting amino acids Arg179 and Gly180, the thermostability of α-amylase AmyS∆R179-G180 was enhanced and the half-life at 100 °C significantly increased from 24 to 33 min. In addition, AmyS∆R179-G180 exhibited greater acid resistance and lower calcium requirements to maintain α-amylase activity. The secretory capacity of the recombinant strain was evaluated by fed-batch fermentation in a 7.5-litre fermentor in which high α-amylase activity was obtained. The highest activity reached 3300 U/mL with a high productivity of 45.8 U/(mL•h).

To avoid large deformation, resulting from liquefaction, in inclined and deeply deposited liquefiable soil, it is necessary to design economical and reasonable reinforcement schemes. A reinforcement scheme employing subarea long-short gravel piles was proposed, and it was successfully applied in the embankment construction of the Aksu-kashgar highway. To reveal its underlying mechanism and effect on the seismic performance of the highway, the dynamic responses of natural foundation and two kinds of reinforced foundations were analyzed and compared under this scheme, using the program FEMEPDYN. Results showed that both the seismic subsidence and the excess pore pressure ratios were far less in the foundation reinforced with isometric gravel piles and in the foundation reinforced with subarea long-short gravel piles, compared with that in natural foundation. Therefore, the potential hazards of liquefaction were overcome in these two kinds of reinforced foundations. Furthermore, it was obvious that the shielding region only formed within the foundation reinforced with subarea long-short gravel piles. With the shielding effect, the proposed reinforcement scheme employing subarea long-short gravel piles not only eliminated liquefaction in deeply deposited liquefiable soil, but it also demonstrated an outstanding advantage in that the total length of gravel piles used was greatly reduced compared to the total length in the isometric gravel piles scheme and the interphase long-short gravel piles.

Ion-cutting of piezoelectric LiNbO3 (LN) thin film provides a material platform for the design and fabrication of novel integrated photonics and RF MEMS devices. In this paper, the ion-slicing mechanisms of He-implanted LN with different orientations are investigated. The anisotropy of film exfoliation is observed on LN wafers with different orientations. The Z-cut LN shows regular surface blistering and “plate-like” exfoliation, while the Y-cut LN shows the unique “rolled-up” exfoliation. Two types of defect, i.e. the pressure-related plateau defect and the stress-related crack defect, are observed to contribute to the film exfoliation. Moreover, the defect evolution in H-implanted LN is investigated. In comparison with the He-implanted LN, implanted H ions are mainly trapped by O-H bond and the implantation-induced strain is not strong enough, which are inadequate to form the continuous crack. Therefore the H ions are not favorable for the mass production of LNOI substrates.

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) deposition in subtropical forests has increased rapidly and the current level is very high, thus seriously affecting nutrient (e.g., N and phosphorus (P)) release from litter. However, the specific effects of S addition and its interaction with N on the release of carbon (C), N, and P from litter in subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests are unclear. Therefore, a two-year field experiment was performed using a litterbag method in a subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest in western China to examine the responses of litter decomposition and nutrient release to the control (CK), added N (+N), added S (+S), and added N and S (+NS) treatments. The results showed that the remaining litter mass, lignin, cellulose, C, N, P, and litter N/P ratio were higher, whereas the litter C/N ratio and soil pH were lower in the fertilization treatments than in CK. The annual decomposition coefficients (k-values) in the +N, +S, and +NS treatments were 0.384 ± 0.002, 0.378 ± 0.002, and 0.374 ± 0.001 year−1, respectively, which were significantly lower than the k-values in CK (0.452 ± 0.005 year−1, p < 0.05). The remaining mass, lignin, cellulose, C, and litter N/P ratio were higher, whereas the soil pH was lower in the +NS treatment than in the +N and +S. The interactive effects of N addition and S addition on the remaining litter lignin, cellulose, C, N, and P; the litter C/N, C/P, and N/P ratios; and the soil pH were significant (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the addition of N and S synergistically decreased the degradation of lignin and cellulose and the release of C and N and increased the litter N/P ratio, suggesting that external N and S inputs synergistically slowed the release of C and N from litter and exacerbated litter P limitation during decomposition in this forest.

Heterogeneous integration of materials pave a new way for the development of the microsystem with miniaturization and complex functionalities. Two types of hybrid silicon on insulator (SOI) structures, i.e., Si (100)-on-Si (111) and Si (111)-on-Si (100), were prepared by the smart-cut technique, which is consist of ion-slicing and wafer bonding. The precise calculation of the lattice strain of the transferred films without the epitaxial matching relationship to the substrate was demonstrated based on X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The XRD and Raman measurement results suggest that the transferred films possess single crystalline quality. With a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process, the surface roughness of the transferred thin films can be reduced from 5.57 nm to 0.30 nm. The 4-inch GaN thin film epitaxially grown on the as-prepared hybrid SOI of Si (111)-on-Si (100) by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is of improved quality with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 672.54 arcsec extracted from the XRD rocking curve and small surface roughness of 0.40 nm. The wafer-scale GaN on Si (111)-on-Si (100) can serve as a potential platform for the one chip integration of GaN-based high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) or photonics with the Si (100)-based complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS).

Background: There are few predictors of the virological response in patients who are re-treated with antiviral therapies. In this study, we evaluated the levels of chemokines that bind to C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) and their impact on combination therapy in both treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Methods: Longitudinal analysis of CCR5 chemokines was performed using the multiplex Bio-Rad 27-plex assay in 56 treatment-naïve and 24 treatment-experienced patients with chronic HCV infection during combination therapy with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin. A group of healthy donors was included as the control (n = 11). Results: The pretreatment level of macrophage inflammatory protein 1 (MIP-1) was determined to be an independent predictor, with an ideal predictive threshold for sustained virological response of 95.23 pg/ml. A rapid decline in HCV RNA was observed in patients with a pretreatment MIP-1 level of

N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis is a powerful tool to generate mutants on a large scale efficiently, and to discover genes with novel functions at the whole-genome level in Caenorhabditis elegans, flies, zebrafish and mice, but it has never been tried in large model animals. We describe a successful systematic three-generation ENU mutagenesis screening in pigs with the establishment of the Chinese Swine Mutagenesis Consortium. A total of 6,770 G1 and 6,800 G3 pigs were screened, 36 dominant and 91 recessive novel pig families with various phenotypes were established. The causative mutations in 10 mutant families were further mapped. As examples, the mutation of SOX10 (R109W) in pig causes inner ear malfunctions and mimics human Mondini dysplasia, and upregulated expression of FBXO32 is associated with congenital splay legs. This study demonstrates the feasibility of artificial random mutagenesis in pigs and opens an avenue for generating a reservoir of mutants for agricultural production and biomedical research.

Smart grid is a modernized electrical grid. It is used to collect information about behaviors of suppliers and consumers and improve the efficiency, reliability, and economics of electricity. Recently, advanced metering infrastructure is proposed as a critical part of the smart grid. The security of advanced metering infrastructure is special importance for smart grid. In order to achieve data confidentiality, privacy, and authentication in advanced metering infrastructure, a lightweight authentication and key agreement scheme is proposed in this article. The scheme provides mutual authentication, key agreement, key refreshment, and multicast mechanism which can prevent various attacks. Furthermore, we analyze the security and performance of the scheme. The analysis shows that the proposed scheme is suitable for smart grid.

We propose a loss tolerant quantum private query (QPQ) protocol based on two non-orthogonal states and unambiguous state discrimination (USD) measurement. By analyzing a two-point attack by a third party, we find that our protocol has a stronger ability to resist external attacks than G-protocol and Y-protocol. Our protocol requires a smaller number of compressions than that in G-protocol (Gao et al., Opt. Exp. 2012, 20, 17411–17420) and Y-protocol (Yan et al. Quant. Inf. Process. 2014, 13, 805–813), which means less post-processing. Our protocol shows better database security and user privacy compared with G-protocol.